Given name & surname · also Spanish
Tia
“an aunt”·“daughter born to royalty”
Tia is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “an aunt” and “daughter born to royalty”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “an aunt” and “daughter born to royalty”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Spanish and Greek naming traditions.
How it developed
In English usage, Tia is a diminutive of Dorothea. In English usage, Tia is an affectionate form of Dorothea.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1944. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Tia through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 33,896
- 64 boys · 33,832 girls
- Most popular year
- 1982
- 1,189 babies
- 2025
- 98
- #1,980 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −29%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 98 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,980 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 28.8% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 1,182 in 1982. In 2025, California and Illinois and Michigan shared the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (9 each). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 30,869 as a first name in 2020; 391 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Tia’s family of names
In English usage, Tia is a diminutive of Dorothea. Tia has a related form in Tiana. In English usage, Tia is an affectionate form of Dorothea.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 20
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Tia
- Tia CarrereAmerican actress (born 1967)
- Tia HellebautBelgian high jumperborn 1978
- Tia MowryAmerican actress (born 1978)
- Tia TexadaAmerican actressborn 1971
- Tia ClaytonJamaican sprinterborn 2004
- Tia JonesAmerican female hurdlerborn 2000
- Tia Blakewriter and singer of Columbus, Georgia1952–2015
- Tia SobhyEgyptian rhythmic gymnastborn 2003
- Tia BrooksAmerican shot putterborn 1990
Characters named Tia: Tia Dalma (Pirates of the Caribbean).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Tia, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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